Lynx 95, Liberty 93: Overtime Classic Ends in Improbable Fashion

Despite falling behind early and looking to come up short in Game 1, the Minnesota Lynx completed an improbable comeback while topping the New York Liberty in an instant classic to take a 1-0 series lead.

Two days after taking down the Connecticut Sun in a winner-take-all Game 5 to claim the semifinals series and advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time in seven years, the Minnesota Lynx quickly shifted focus to the league-leading New York Liberty and continuing the journey towards a WNBA championship on Thursday night.

Minnesota and New York opened up the best-of-five WNBA Finals with Game 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the first of two games in New York to open up the series before it shifts back to Minnesota for Game 3 and potentially Game 4.

In Game 1, the Liberty looked like the well-rested team everyone thought would appear after completing their semifinals series in four games, while the Lynx looked like they were trying to play catch-up for most of the night.

For most of the game, New York was the better team and should have been the one that came out on top. But the Lynx didn’t let that impact them, and they proved to everyone by the end of the game that they are the better team despite struggling early.

In the end, we witnessed one of the best WNBA Finals games of all time, an instant classic that resulted in Minnesota pulling off an improbable 95-93 win in overtime to steal Game 1 and take a 1-0 series advantage.

Wild Finish

To say Thursday’s Game 1 was an instant classic would be an understatement. A game that looked to be on pace for a blowout turned into one of the closest games we’ve seen in the WNBA Finals in recent memory.

Trailing by seven going into the fourth quarter, the Lynx went on a fourth-quarter tear, going on a 14-2 run in the final minutes of the game and making it a one-possession contest with just seconds remaining.

That’s when Courtney Williams completely changed the game.

With Minnesota down 83-80, Williams buried a three with 5.5 seconds left and not only tied up the game but converted on a four-point play to give the Lynx their first lead of the night.

New York then marched down the court, attempting to hit a go-ahead bucket, only to hear the final buzzer sound. But not so fast. Players remained on the court as the officials called a foul with 0.8 seconds remaining, giving the Liberty two free throws and a chance to win it in the final second.

Breanna Stewart, who shot 84.5% from the free throw line during the 2024 season, hit her first free throw to tie the game and missed the second, resulting in the game going into overtime.

As you guessed, the entertaining battle didn’t stop after four quarters.

Back-and-Forth Overtime

With what happened in regulation behind them and out of their memories, Minnesota and New York went shot-for-shot in the five-minute overtime frame, as we all expected.

And like regulation, the game came down to the final seconds in extra time. With Minnesota once again hitting a big shot to take a late lead.

With 8.8 seconds remaining, Napheesa Collier buried a jumper to put her up to 21 points, eight rebounds, six blocks, and three steals and give the Lynx the final lead of the night, coming away with an impossible and improbable win on the road to steal the first game of the championship series.

Alongside Collier, Williams and Kayla McBride also surpassed the 20-point mark to lead Minnesota. Williams tallied a team-best 23 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists, while McBride ended with 22 points with four threes and four assists.

Over the final 10-plus minutes of the game, the Lynx ended up outscoring the Liberty 29-11 while tying the largest comeback in WNBA Finals history.

It wasn’t an ending any of us expected or saw coming, all of us except for the Lynx. And they are now two wins away from their fifth WNBA championship.

“We’re resilient. We know they’re a tough team,” Williams said after the game. “We never gave up.”

Up Next

With Game 1 now in the books, the second game of the best-of-five series takes place Sunday when these two teams face off once again at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in Game 2.

Game 2 between Minnesota and New York will tip off at 2PM CT and can be seen on ABC.

Here’s the full schedule and broadcast information for the Finals:

• Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 10 — Minnesota 95, New York 93 (OT)
• Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 13 — 2PM CT at Barclays Center (ABC)
• Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 16 — 7PM CT at Target Center (ESPN)
• Game 4: Friday, Oct. 18 — 7PM CT at Target Center (ESPN)*
• Game 5: Sunday, Oct. 20 — 7PM CT at Barclays Center (ESPN)*
  *If necessary